God Save Texas - Season 1 - Episode 3

In her poetic exploration of El Paso, Texas, Mexican American filmmaker Iliana Sosa unveils a city woven with vibrant Mexican heritage, its essence textured by the coexistence and division along the border shared with Juarez, Mexico. As Sosa traces the fluctuating nature of America's relationship to migrants from south of the border, she invokes the concept of "Nepantla," a Nahuatl word for a state of "in-between-ness," suggesting a frontier land with blurred edges where first-generation immigrant children straddle two cultures, navigating a complex sense of identity and belonging. Where immigrants were once brought in as legal guest workers, border policies and Covid regulations now restrict the flow of traffic, impacting the lives of many families who live on opposite sides of the divide; recent gentrification further risks obliterating historic Mexican neighborhoods and lifestyles. In GOD SAVE TEXAS: LA FRONTERA, Sosa posits that a shared culture and a fluidity between the countries has always enriched El Paso, giving rise to a humanity and unique hybridity that allowed the city to come together and heal in the wake of the 2019 Walmart tragedy.Show more